第60章

and he went on removing from place to place till he had gone half a day's journey from the city，ever casting the net which kept bringing up naught.So he said to himself，'By Allah，I will throw my net a-stream but his once more，whether ill come of it or weal！'[212]Then he hurled the net with all his force，of the excess and his wrath and the purse with the hundred dinars flew out of his collar-pocket and，lighting in mid-stream，was carried away by the strong current；whereupon he threw down the net and plunged into the water after the purse.He dived for it nigh a hundred times，till his strength was exhausted and he came up for sheer fatigue without chancing on it.When he despaired of finding the purse，he returned to the shore，where he was nothing but staff，net and basket and sought for his clothes，but could light on no trace of them： so he said in himself，'O vilest of those wherefor was made the byword，'The pilgrimage is not perfected save by copulation with the camel！'[213]Then he wrapped the net about him and taking staff in one hand and basket in other，went trotting about like a camel in rut，running right and left and backwards and forwards，dishevelled and dusty，as he were a rebel Marid let loose from Solomon's prison.[214]So far for what concerns the Fisherman Khalifah；but as regards the Caliph Harun al-Rashid，he had a friend，a jeweller called Ibn al-Kirnas，[215] and all the traders，brokers and middle-men knew him for the Caliph's merchant；wherefore there was naught sold in Baghdad，by way of rarities and things of price or Mamelukes or handmaidens，but was first shown to him.As he sat one day in his shop，behold，there came up to him the Shaykh of the brokers，with a slave-girl，whose like seers never saw，for she was of passing beauty and loveliness，symmetry and perfect grace，and among her gifts was that she knew all arts and sciences and could make verses and play upon all manner musical instruments.So Ibn al-Kirnas bought her for five thousand golden dinars and clothed her with other thousand；after which he carried her to the Prince of True Believers，with whom she lay the night and who made trial of her in every kind of knowledge and accomplishment and found her versed in all sorts of arts and sciences，having no equal in her time.Her name was Kut al-Kulub [216] and she was even as saith the poet；'I fix my glance on her，whene'er she wends；* And non-acceptance of my glance breeds pain：

She favours graceful-necked gazelle at gaze；* And'Graceful as gazelle'to say we're fain.'

And where is this [217] beside the saying of another？

'Give me brunettes；the Syrian spears，so limber and so straight；Tell of the slender dusky maids，so lithe and proud of gait.

Languid of eyelids，with a down like silk upon her cheek，Within her wasting lover's heart she queens it still in state.'

On the morrow the Caliph sent for Ibn al-Kirnas the Jeweller，and bade him receive ten thousand dinars as to her price.And his heart was taken up with the slave-girl Kut al-Kulub and he forsook the Lady Zubaydah bint al-Kasim，for all she was the daughter of his father's brother [218] and he abandoned all his favorite concubines and abode a whole month without stirring from Kut al-Kulub's side save to go to the Friday prayers and return to her in all haste.This was grievous to the Lords of the Realm and they complained thereof to the Wazir Ja'afar the Barmecide，who bore with the Commander of the Faithful and waited till the next Friday，when he entered the cathedral-mosque and；foregathering with the Caliph，related to him all that occurred to him of extra-ordinary stories anent seld-seen love and lovers；with intent to draw out what was in his mind.Quoth the Caliph；'By Allah，O Ja'afar，this is not of my choice；but my heart is caught in the snare of love and wot I not what is to be done！'

The Wazir Ja'afar replied，'O Commander of the Faithful，thou knowest how this girl Kut al-Kulub is become at thy disposal and of the number of thy servants，and that which hand possesseth soul coveteth not.Moreover，I will tell thee another thing which is that the highest boast of Kings and Princes is in hunting and the pursuit of sport and victory；and if thou apply thyself to this，perchance it will divert thee from her，and it may be thou wilt forget her.'Rejoined the Caliph，'Thou sayest well，O Ja'afar；come let us go a-hunting forthright，without stay or delay.'So soon as Friday prayers were prayed，they left the mosque and at once mounting their she-mules rode forth to the chase.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid and the Wazir Ja'afar would go forth a-hunting and a-chasing，they mounted two she-mules and fared on into the open country，occupied with talk，and their attendants outwent them.Presently the heat became overhot and Al-Rashid said to his Wazir，'O Ja'afar，I am sore athirst.'Then he looked around and espying a figure in the distance on a high mound，asked Ja'afar，'Seest thou what I see？'Answered the Wazir，'Yes，O Commander of the Faithful；I see a dim figure on a high mound；